“This is something that brings a lot of people into our sport these days. They were surfing, they were sailors, they were doing this and that, and this and that, but still they come here and say:

—You know what my problem is? I was surfing in blablabla and was still thinking about my business. I hope to get rid of this in fly fishing.

And this is certainly true, this is one of the big assets of our sport.
Because we have a very technical aspect: casting. It’s impossible to make a difficult cast and think about your work back home. It’s just impossible. Good thing.”

Jean-Pierre Vollrath

Does she fish or just cast (beautifully)? It would be interesting to see if all that technical casting ability also amounted to catching ability.

I read the comment above in a forum the other day. It is in reference to Maxine McCormick’s amazing casting prowess —Maxine is a 14 year old girl with several world records in fly casting under her belt!!

Maxine

I have heard that argument many times before around here. In my view it misses the point because the question that matters is:

If my technical ability were as good as that of Maxine, would it improve my catching ability and my overall enjoyment of fly fishing?

And the answer is YES, ABSOLUTELY!!!

“New Zealand trout in gin clear waters require a higher degree of casting performance than many are accustomed to, but you can get ahead by starting to practice now. Practice with 12′ leaders casting accurately at dinner plates at 20′, 35′ and 50′, and don’t neglect windy days: wind is a constant here.”

Chris Dore via email

Chris Dore –top class kiwi guide– giving advice on how to prepare for a guided trip to New Zealand. No mention of flies, obviously.